Chapter 89: Ambush

“Senior Happy!”
“Another group is coming from ahead… It seems to be bandits this time!”
Standing on top of the escort carriage, Lan Yan saw faint dark dots and rising dust on the horizon and quickly shouted to Happy and the others leading the horses.
No sooner had he spoken than two riders rushed out from either side of the carriage!
“Eldest Senior! You’ll have to hold back the enemy this time. Xiao Chou and I will go ahead to stretch our legs!” Xu Lang called back with a smile after rushing out of the convoy—typical of acting first and reporting later.
“Go ahead, be careful.”
Happy remained motionless, smiling.
From last night’s drinking, he still felt a slight dizziness.
Moreover, the relationship among the six of them had grown closer. Happy knew that with Xu Lang and Gui Jianchou’s strength, those minor enemies were no match for them. Indeed, they had already dealt with several groups along the way.
He Shiyi, Lan Yan, and Xiao Fu also stayed put, letting the two riders head toward the bandits on the horizon, while the rest continued to guard the carriage, chatting intermittently.
“There are only so few bandits—kind of boring, Senior.”
Xiao Fu wiped the sweat from her forehead and casually came over to Happy.
He Shiyi smiled as he watched the man and woman ahead and wisely pulled back a few steps, holding onto the reins of his horse.
“Yes!”
Lan Yan, with his sharp ears, jumped down from the carriage roof at those words and led his horse to Happy’s other side. “Senior, I wonder if there are any other interesting things in ‘Jianghu’?”
Interesting things?
Happy smiled helplessly.
Right now, everyone’s strength was too weak, so not much had been revealed. But as time went on and more missions unfolded, things would surely get more exciting, especially with the surge in mission opportunities across the regions after the New Year… Of course, as an ordinary player, Happy thought it was better not to expect anything too shocking.
He replied immediately, “How would I know?”
Unexpectedly, the escort guard who had remained silent throughout, aside from saying “Set off!” and “Stop!”—never uttering more than five words—suddenly spoke up:
“It’s relatively safe for now. Once we leave the territory of Gusu and enter areas beyond the government’s control, things will get busy… In the next few dozen miles, there’s almost a stronghold on every mountain, with at least one or two experts at the Creation Realm guarding each one.”
The two girls were immediately captivated by the guard’s words, surprised that he could answer questions. Even He Shiyi rushed over in surprise!
“Experts at the Creation Realm?”
“Mm.”

The guide was rather burly and strong, sitting in the driver’s seat. While wiping his sword, he wore a serious expression and said, “The Murong family still has some influence in the Gusu region. They dare not act openly during the day, and smaller factions certainly wouldn’t dare provoke them… But once we get there, they won’t care about such things… If we encounter small camps, it might be manageable, but if we run into large, well-armed fortresses, our forces won’t be as small as they are now… It will be very difficult for us ten to get through.”

“…”

Hearing the guide’s words, everyone’s expression changed instantly.

Although Xu Lang and Gui Jianchou could easily deal with groups of bandits and robbers now, they still used certain tactics and strategies, and there were no experts at the Creation Realm to suppress them.

If they really encountered the large-scale bandit attacks the guide mentioned, with Happy being held back, everyone would indeed be in great danger.

Happy’s expression also turned serious…

He had participated in escort missions in his past life as well, and the harder it got later on, the more complex the situations became, with even experts at the Mysterious Realm possible.

But back then, due to his weak strength, when escorting the precious box alone, he faced enemies at every border crossing, though in varying numbers, with few experts at the Creation Realm appearing.

This time was clearly different!

There were groups of bandits, and just after leaving the Gusu region, they encountered over a hundred robbers, plus bandits at the Creation Realm…

Once they reached the capital city, who knew how complicated things might get with players blocking their path!

Thinking further, Happy rubbed his temples:

Even with past experience, he had only gone through one type of situation. He was still a newcomer, unsure of what other challenges awaited him.

Xu Lang and Gui Jianchou took a full ten minutes to drive back the bandits ahead. When they returned, their faces were filled with shame. “Uh, it seems these bandits have gotten stronger.”

After Lan Yan explained the guide’s words, they all grew serious.

“What should we do?”

“I need to leave again in a while.”

Xu Lang became nervous.

In tasks that required prolonged effort, once a player left, their game character couldn’t disappear and had to stay with the group, acting like an ordinary NPC.

Hearing that there might be NPCs at the Creation Realm ahead, Xu Lang was extremely frustrated, not knowing what to do.

“It’s okay. You can set your character to follow Brother He and protect the convoy. We’ll try our best to keep you safe.”

Happy didn’t think much of it; having one less person didn’t greatly affect the mission.
But Xu Lang was still worried:
“But… you five…”
“It’s fine. We can handle it for now. In the future, while traveling, we should all hurry to finish our tasks so we’re ready when it counts,” said Happy.
Everyone nodded.
…
The six of them got on the cart, with six riders on horseback. The group quickly moved beyond the territory of Gusu, arriving at the place mentioned earlier by the cart handlers. Lush mountains stretched between the roads and streams, serene and seemingly devoid of any danger.
But…
By now, Xu Lang had left, wielding a long sword and staying close to He Shiyi, who was walking on foot!
Happy scanned the surrounding mountains and took the lead in clearing the path.
The armored cart slowly rolled over the bumpy road, making creaking noises. Lan Yan, Xiao Fu, He Shiyi, and Gui Jianchou guarded nervously on either side, not daring to relax even for a moment.
After passing the first bend, they officially entered the mountain range. The four cart handlers also got off the cart, adopting a highly vigilant stance. Scanning the area, they could faintly see traces ofknife wounds and sword marks on the tree trunks around them, still bearing evidence of the violence that had occurred not long ago.
“Stay alert!”
Suddenly, He Shiyi noticed from ahead that Happy, who was scouting about a hundred meters away, had turned and rushed into the forest on the left. He quickly shouted.
Before his words faded, a streak of black light shot out from the forest, accompanied by a sharp sound as it struck the ground between He Shiyi and Gui Jianchou.
Buzz!
The arrow sank deep into the ground, its tail trembling.
“Arrows!”
The two were instantly terrified. Before they could react, a loud sound filled the air as arrows rained down from the forest, attacking the eight people around the cart like swarms of locusts!
Several players, unaccustomed to such a situation, were terrified by the onslaught of arrows and rushed behind the cart to take cover.
It was then that the four cart handlers, who had not shown much before, displayed extraordinary courage. Instead of retreating, they stepped forward, using their bodies to shield the cart. With the clashing of swords and arrows, they calmly deflected or knocked away numerous arrows without flinching.
After three waves of arrows…
The four cart handlers were hit by several arrows each…
Gui Jianchou felt ashamed and gritted his teeth, roaring as he rushed out from behind the cart. He Shiyi also emerged from behind the cart under the cover of the others, drew his bow, and sent three arrows swiftly into the forest…